Way of the Sword
by RecluseSPYder
Summary: Ordered Sword comes from a family of warriors, and is plagued with a terrible and dishonorable past. He has now been selected for the Lunar Guard, and now has to confront his fears and past head on. This is a background story to Her Guardian by Bluemane, based on my OC in it.
1. A Rough Night

***A/N: Hello everyone! As you can see I have started a new story. This is a story based off of Her Guardian by Bluemane here on Fanfiction. In order to understand this story better I recommend that you read his story first. Anyway, this story is about my OC in the story, and it will add to the lore of Her Guardian. So please sit back and enjoy! **

**This is after chapter 27 of Her Guardian, 'Contests and Conversations' **

"You're going to be alright as well?" Amicus asks me as we walk to the castle.

"Nothing a painkiller won't sort in the morning." I chuckle. "I've been through it before, but that was fun." I finish my answer and continue forward. I lied; I'm going to have a terrible night, because of my drinking. Hopefully it won't be too bad so I can still work.

He nods and I head down my street to my home. I look up at the moon, and let it stare back at me. It seems the elder was right all of those years ago; I am now in the Lunar Guard. I open my door and close it behind me. I look at my home. Fireplace, couch, desk, and a cabinet fill the living room. Kitchen to the left, and bedrooms to the right.

I sigh as I walk towards my room. I pass my sons room on the way, and stop to look inside. I see his large cradle, some of his toys, and a picture. The entire room is covered in a thick layer of dust. I walk towards the small picture on the floor and look at it.

There were three badly drawn ponies and some writing. 'Mommy, Daddy, Me' All of them pointing to specific ones in the picture. There is a large heart around all of them. I close my eyes and put my head down in a somber silence. It's been seven long years… seven years. I raise my head and walk back out of the room.

I walk into my bedroom, and take off my armor and place it in my closet. I then lie down on my bed. I look to the spot next to me, and find nopony. On the nightstand for the empty side I see a necklace. It's the necklace she was making for me.

I get up off of my bed and stand there staring at it. I'm not sleeping tonight if this continues, and it will continue. I walk out into the living room, and I find my map on the desk. It shows all of the findings I've placed together in order to find my family over the years. Witness reports, bounties, reports, and many more things. I need to calm down, or I'll get violent about this.

I go to one of the bathrooms on one side of the living room. I look at my reflection. My navy blue coat is the darkest thing here. My white mane is slightly messed up from the drinking game with Drift. My cutie mark, a giant eagle with a scepter in one claw, and a sword in the other. My dull brown eyes have lost all signs of life since they were taken from me.

I step out of the bathroom and head to the front door. I open the door and step outside. The night breeze hits my skin and I barely feel it. Time to visit and old place.

I walk all the way out of Canterlot, and to the edge of the forest. It will be a long journey, but I must do it.

I break off at a heavy and fast gallop through the woods. Dodging trees with ease and continuing onward through the forest.

**1 hour later**

I'm still going through the woods and finally arrive at my destination. There is now a thin blanket of snow on the ground up here in the northern lands of Equestria. I stand on top of a hill overlooking a large valley of snowy trees.

The memories start to play out in front of me.

**35 years ago**

"It is beautiful, armor." My mother says to my father. She has a violet fur color, a red mane, and a rose as a cutie mark.

"This is where we can raise him." My father adds. He was a heavy built stallion with sky blue fur, a white mane, and a set of armor as a cutie mark.

I step in-between the two. "Raise who papa?" I ask in my small voice. I don't even have my cutie mark yet.

He looks down at me and smiles. "You, my son. Here we will raise you to be a fine warrior like the rest of the family, and you will then choose your own identity. Now come with me my son." My father walks to a steep edge of the hill and waits.

"Go on, I'll catch up soon." My mother nudges me towards him. I gallop over to my father and look down the hill.

"Now, do you have any fear of this fall?" He asks me. I look down and find it is really steep and dangerous looking.

"Yes papa, it looks pretty scary." I answer somewhat scared.

"Hm, I see." He then pushes me over the edge. I scream as I fall down. He jumps down after me, and hits the snow, and slides on it expertly. I fall on my stomach and start sliding down. I stop screaming and start to laugh at how fun this is. Sliding down at exhilarating speeds, and feeling the cool air through my lungs feels amazing!

I come to stop at the bottom and my father stops next to me.

I'm still laughing by the time he gets next to me, and I stop once he is looking at me.

"It's not scary anymore, now is it?" He asks in a fatherly tone.

"No, it's fun!" I answer back as I stand back on my hooves.

**Present time**

I chuckle as I remember that moment, back when I had a childhood.

I step to the steep edge from all of those years ago and look down. I feel no fear now, only pain, but I'll change that. I jump down upon the steep side and start to slide down the hill. I start going faster and faster. Then I did something I haven't done in a while. I laughed as I slide down at top speed. Finally I came to a rest at the bottom of the hill.

I smile as I remember the next part of the journey.

I break off at a fast gallop into the woods. I move as if my father is still with me guiding me through the woods. I jump over some fallen trees, and duck under one hanging in the branches. By now there is some light snow fall coming into the woods. I continue onward unhindered by the climate around me. I then stop at the mouth of an old cave.

At the mouth there are two swords in the ground acting as tombstones. I walk to the tombstones and bow.

"Way of the Sword!" I call to begin my request.

"Father and Mother, I have come to you in a time of need. I have been recruited into the Lunar Guard as the elders wanted. I still wish my cousins could be able to join me here, but alas they had the same fate as you. You must be disappointed by my failure to protect my family, but I ask for guidance in these times. I reckon that not long from now Swiftest Sword will bring me the message for me to defend myself at the sacred grounds. For then I ask of your guidance in which I can defeat all who oppose me, and I can then return my wife and son to their peace. Thank you for listening father, and mother. May the way of the sword guide me to the land of glory."

Now with my mind clear I can return home and rest.

***A/N: Thoughts?**


	2. Remembering Her

**This chapter takes place during chapter 29 of Her Guardian. **

"Y'know, he's a bit... scary when he's disapproving." Drift mutters to me as we walk down a large hallway. We just finished recruiting some ponies for the guard, and there were some promising ones. It will take much discipline for them to become an effective fighting force though. Plans for later though, now I have a conversation to attend to.

"I'm not intimidated; to me he's just my officer." I add.

Drift mutters something quietly.

"What was that?" I ask.

"Oh, nothing!" He seems nervous.

"Drift you have nothing to fear from me. Just because I trained you doesn't mean I'm immune to your criticism, besides you're now a higher rank than me." I pat his back while saying this.

"Oh, thanks Ordered." He seems relieved.

"Now, what did you say earlier?"

"It's easy for you to not be intimidated. You're bigger than him." He remarks.

"Size isn't everything Drift; you for one should know that. The Sword family mentality is to show no fear in any situation. In a way all Sword family members have a heart of courage." I explain.

He takes it in and nods.

"Ordered?" He asks.

"Yes?"

"What's up with Golden Sword?" He brings up that trash.

"He's not of my family's blood. Some families want a good warrior every once in a while, and they steal my family's name. The Sword name just doesn't automatically make you a great warrior though. Without being raised in the lifestyle you won't be a true Sword warrior." I explain.

"That reminds me, how did you raise your son?" He asks.

I stop walking and stare at the ground. He turns around and looks at me.

"Oh, sorry I asked." He apologized.

"No, it's fine. I see no harm." I resume walking and he joins me.

"Due to my family's culture he adopted my name. That I could deal with, but they wanted me to take him and my wife back to the forests to raise him. After what happened to my parents, that's not going to happen. So, I kept them with me here in Canterlot. I didn't want to force him to become a warrior, I wanted him to choose how his life went, and my wife wanted to as well. All of this was cut short when they were taken from me. He turns seven this year." I explain.

"Damn, that's rough. We'll find them one day Ordered, and we'll get them back for you." He attempted to comfort me.

"One day my family will call me to face judgment for failing to defend them, and I would like for you to join me there Drift."

"I would be honored Ordered." He accepts.

"I'll need some friends when I go there, so thank you." I thank him.

When I do have to go there it won't be pretty. There are some of my family members that want my blood spilled on the sacred grounds. I am outmatched easily by some of them, and I won't be able to fight against them. I want to get it done peacefully, but that has a large chance of failing. If peaceful ways fail, I'm going to die. That is a fact.

Drift and I continue going through the hallways and we split up for today. I then start to head home.

**30 minutes later**

I open my door and head into my home; it's still early in the afternoon. I take off my armor and place it in my closet, then head to the fridge. I open up the fridge and find some bottles of beer, and that's it. Looks like it's time to go shopping. I grab a sack of bits and head out.

I start to walk over to the store when I see the old bar I used to go to. The name of it is 'The Melting Pot'. This is where I first met her.

**8 years ago**

I was a pretty veteran guard at this time, but I still wasn't a trainer yet. I just finished my patrol and needed something to drink, so I stopped inside. The place has a modern feel to it, with a dance floor, tables, and of course a bar. I head over to the bar, and wait for a bartender to show up.

Finally, a bartender arrives, and he's wearing a tuxedo.

"Good evening sir, what beverage would you like tonight?" He asks in a rather uptight tone. I can barely hear him over the music.

I look at the menu board behind the bar. I can't even begin to pronounce any of the names on the board.

"Uh… can I just have a beer?" I ask.

He gasped. "Beer? Sir, we don't serve those barbaric 'drinks' in this establishment."

"Fine. How about a glass of water?" I ask, annoyed by this.

"Do you like things simple?" I nod. "Then here you are sir." He fills a glass and drops some ice into it. He then places it in front of me. "From the armor I assume you're a guard?"

"Yes, and I would like the discount please." I answer.

"Alright, that's twenty percent off, and it comes up to twenty bits, sir." He reports.

"Twenty? That's ridiculous!" I yell.

"It's what you wanted sir."

I sigh. "Fine." I pay the price.

"Thank you for your purchase." Then he walks off.

"Twenty bits…" I mutter under my breath.

I take a sip and it's just tap water… delightful.

**Perspective Change: Silvered Charm**

"Who's that guard that just got here?" Sapphire asks. She is a sapphire coated, Earth Pony with a pink mane.

"You haven't heard?" Bliss asks. She is a white coated pegasus with a golden mane.

"Heard what?" I ask. I am a silver coated unicorn with an emerald mane.

Bliss stands up. "Neither of you have heard of him?!"

"No!" Sapphire and I exclaim in unison.

She sits back down.

Bliss starts to explain. "That stallion is Ordered Sword. You can already see why he attracts the attention of all the mares." She points towards the bar with her hoof.

I look over to where she was pointing, and was amazed. Standing at the bar was the biggest stallion I've ever seen. He had a navy blue coat, with a white mane, and he is wearing the golden Celestial Guard armor.

"Wow…" I all I can say.

We turn our attention back to Bliss.

"Yeah, and I've heard he's single." Bliss whispers.

"Oh, we've got to try and get him!" Sapphire exclaims.

Bliss and Sapphire look at each other and then bolt off towards him. I just shove my face into my hoof.

**Perspective Change: Ordered Sword**

I continue to drink my water until I hear some crashing behind me. I turn and find a mare looking at me, and another not too far off. She's a white coated Pegasus with a golden mane. She takes a deep breath and walks towards me. She stands very close to me and begins to talk.

"Hello, my name is Bliss." She says in a seductive tone. She leans in and whispers into my ear. "What's yours?"

I pull my head back. "My name's Ordered Sword, and what do you want?" I answer.

"Oh, nothing." She leans against me. "What do you want?"

I chuckle. She walked right into this one.

"I want you to stop trying to seduce me, and leave. I'm classier than that, madam." I respond boldly while looking back forward.

She sighs and then walks away.

Finally, now back to my drink.

Seconds later another the other mare is next to me. This time a sapphire coated Earth pony with a pink mane.

"Good evening, sir." She greets me.

I sigh. "Good evening, madam." I return without taking my eyes off of my glass.

"It's quite a good night for this establishment." She supplies.

"Indeed." I reply. "Though it will take more than small talk to get me."

"How did you-"

"You were with the last one. Now please, leave me alone." I cut her off and return to my drink.

She sighed and walked away as well.

Hopefully, that's the last one.

**Perspective Change: Silvered Charm**

Sapphire and Bliss both sat back down after being shot down by Ordered.

"By Celestia, he's smarter than he looks." Bliss remarks.

"He's sharper than the sword he carries." Sapphire adds.

I giggle. "His sword, huh?" I get up and walk towards him.

I stand right next to him.

"Are you Ordered Sword?" I ask.

He groans. "Yes." He didn't even look at me.

I look at his sword and it was quite remarkable. The hilt was made of solid gold, with a black grip on it. Between the hilt and blade was a dark blue eagle with a white gem inside it. The hilt was also lined with Ebony wood. The blade itself was made of gleaming steel, and it looked quite intimidating.

"Your sword is definitely not standard for guards." I direct to him.

"It is mine, and thank you for noticing." He replies. Good, I'm making some ground.

"By the looks of it, it's custom made."

"Yes, it was designed by my father." He explains. I think this is working.

"I noticed the gem in the eagle, may I look at it?" I ask.

He pulls out the sword slowly to not cause alarm and grips it tightly in front of me.

"The gem was placed to solidify my bond with the sword. I mined the gem myself with my father." He continues. He's opening up to me.

He places the sword back into his holster. "Now, may I ask why you're interested in my sword?" He asks.

"I work in the field of jewelry, I was interested in it fine metals." I respond.

"Finally, a mare who understands its fine craftsmanship." Yes, I'm so close! He downs the rest of his drink and turns for the door.

"Thank you for the conversation madam, and may our paths cross whence again." He then walks out. So close… but I think he likes me.

I sit back down with my friends.

"How did you do that?!" They both ask me.

"He's definitely not like other stallions; I think I'll follow him." I explain.

They nod for me to go and I step outside after him.

I keep a good two block distance away from him and watch him walk down the dark Canterlot streets. He continues to walk until he reaches a house, and he then opens the door.

I feel something grab me and I'm pulled into a nearby alleyway, and I let out a yelp in surprise. There are eight stallions here with one having a knife pointed at me. I'm cornered and one of the unicorns in the group has cast a ward to keep me from using magic and defending myself.

"Let's do this nice and easy missy. Gives us all your bits and you can go away unscathed." The one with the knife tells me.

**Perspective Change: Ordered Sword**

I open up my door, and hear a yelp of distress in the distance. I close my door and then bolt in the direction of it.

"Let's do this nice and easy missy. Gives us all your bits and you can go away unscathed." I hear a stallion say. I head into the alleyway nearby and find eight stallions and the mare from earlier. This situation looks like a mugging.

"Halt!" I yell, and this gets their attention. "You have violated the peace of Equestria! Stop now or pay the price!"

"We moved up the latter pretty quick, already a guard wants us gone. There's eight of us and only one of you." Their leader calls while keeping the knife pointed at the mare.

"You're wrong. The odds go to me."

"How? Never mind, get rid of him!" He calls to his thugs.

Seven of them charge at me, four Earth pony, and three pegasi. I put down my shoulder and charge right back into them and send all of them stumbling backwards. I then pull out my sword.

"Way of the Sword!" I yell as I slam the sword into the ground. It penetrates the concrete and shakes the ground around me. The sound of its impact rings loudly and deafens all of them. They all slowly get up and try to get ready to fight again.

"Ordered!" I hear my name called. Swiftest Sword ran up next to me. He was a white coated Earth pony, with a dark blue mane. He was also wearing his Celestial Guard Armor.

"I heard your call cousin! Now this is all we're dealing with?" He asks.

"Yes, now let's show them how real warriors fight!" I exclaim, and he nods.

I rip my sword out of the ground and place it back in my holster. Swift used his small size and speed to disappear into the mass of thugs. I charge head on into the main group and knock a couple more down. One got behind me, and went for a hit, but I caught his hoof in mid strike and threw him into the wall. That's one down with six left to go.

When they all recovered back I went for a heavy punch into one's head. He stumbled backwards, recovered, and was met with a second one of my hits. He then just fell down out cold. Another one punched me in the side and was met with my heavy armor, and my tough skin. He held his hoof in pain, and I took this as an opportunity to use my shoulder to knock him away. He'll be down for a bit.

One of the pegasi grabbed onto me and attempted to get into the air, but that won't happen. I wrenched his wing backwards, and he shouted in pain and let go. I then reared up on my hind legs and brought my front hooves down onto his head. Four remain. I look over to find Swift fighting all of them. I might as well help out.

I charge directly at the group and wrap one up into a tackle and force him down to the ground. I then deliver a massive punch to his head, knocking him out. I get up to see Swift has wiped the other three out.

Swift nods to me then runs off to his duties. I finally turn my attention on their unicorn leader.

"Stay back, I'm not afraid!" I can tell he's scared, it's obvious. I start to walk towards him.

"I'm warning you!" He points the knife at the mare. I continue walking.

He shoots a continuous beam of magic at me. It hits me in the chest, and I feel it only slightly. I continue walking at him, and he pours more energy into it. He'll just wear himself out so I welcome it. He keeps pouring more and more energy into this stream, and it's starting to burn. When I'm not even a leg length away he stops the spell.

"Wha- what are you?" He stutters.

"I'm a Sword." I deliver a head-butt and he falls down. "Remember it."

I look at the mare laying on the ground, and find that it is the same unicorn who complimented my sword. I put my hoof out to help her get up, and she accepts and gets up.

"Are you alright?" I ask as I look her over for injuries. She's actually pretty attractive, she's a unicorn though. I need to be careful here.

"Yeah, you're pretty cool when you're fighting." She explains.

"Oh?" I ask.

"You didn't even use your sword, and you still took them out. By the way, who was that other stallion?" She asks.

"Just a friend, come I'll walk you home." I gesture my head to the open end of the alley.

"What about these assholes?" She kicks the unicorn and he moans in pain.

"My friend will get a squad to round them up." She nods and starts walking next to me. "Now, where do you live?" I ask. She's just looking at my shoulders, so I get no response. I clear my throat and this gets her attention.

"Oh, I was just… uh, well you see…" She stumbles over her words.

I chuckle. "Admiring, were you?"

She giggles. "You're the biggest stallion I've ever seen. It's easy to stare." She explains.

"Alright, now where do you live?" I request a location.

"Just a couple blocks down that way." She points back down the road.

We start to walk in the direction. She seems like my type of mare. Rather casual, intelligent, and somewhat assertive. She's not afraid of me either, and from what I can tell she doesn't have any sort of façade on for me. The only downside is my family's culture. The sword family is strictly Earth pony, and a unicorn spouse would be frowned upon. I'll still get the elder's blessing, but I won't be able to live in the sacred land with her. What am I doing? I'm thinking way too far ahead here. Let's trot before we gallop.

"Were you following me?" I ask her.

"Well you did save my life, so I'll come clean here. My two friends and I saw you at the bar so we decided to try and get you with one of us. When you shot both of my friends down I put it all together and complimented your sword. After you left I decided to follow you, and find out where you live. The rest you know." She answers to my satisfaction.

"I hope you know that you now have my attention. I like that in a mare." I look at her.

"Like what?" She asks while looking at me.

I turn my head back forward. "You made a goal for yourself, and then you set out and accomplished it."

"Usually the stallion makes the first move." She adds while looking back forward.

"Does it truly matter which makes that move?" I ask.

She chuckles. "With you it does."

"What makes me so special?" I ask with genuine interest.

"Look at you. You're a large stallion who's also a guard. You're smart, and you aren't a pushover. You're pretty special." She explains.

"Thank you for your praise." I thank her.

We stop at a large apartment building, which just looks plain. It's a decent 10 stories high, and seems big enough for maybe a good 30 occupants.

"Apartment living?" I ask her.

"Yeah, but it's all I need. By the way…" She begins.

"What is it?" I ask her.

"Since you appear open, how about a date?" She looks at me with hope in her eyes.

I chuckle. "You're a bit bold, you know that?" I reply.

She puts her head down and starts to walk to the door.

"At least I tried." She says glumly. I put my hoof on her shoulder and turn her around. She looks back up.

"That's a good thing by the way. Sure, I'll be available next Friday."

"Then I'll see you next Friday Mr. Sword." She winks and heads inside.

I chuckle as I walk away. "What have I gotten myself into?"

**Present time**

"The best thing ever." I say as if I'm answering my past self.

***A/N: Hello, followers of Her Guardian! As you can see Bluemane and I are synchronizing our updates to give you the most of the story each week. Bluemane and I are also going to be continuing work on Her Guardian whenever we can. Hopefully you can expect a chapter for each story every week, and always be satisfied with the quality. If you have any questions about either story please contact Bluemane or I, and we'll answer any questions as long as it doesn't spoil the story. Now, until next time RecluseSPYder, out!**


	3. Training in multiple arts

"I will handle the unicorns, and Drift, Ordered, take the others. Make them do stretches and such, and Drift; test their wings, I want to know all of your limits. Then I will push you further." Amicus then examines all of us. "I suppose you can have five minutes for a breather..."

He then leads Tide and Azure off to another part of the field. The others immediately collapse and try to catch their breath. I begin my own breathing exercise, by breathing in through the mouth and out through the nose.

I've gone out of my prime that's for sure. When I was younger I probably would've won that race easily. I would have also been faster in my fighting as well. It's official, I'm getting old. It's been a while since I first finished the trial…

**27 years ago: Sword family sacred grounds**

I stood at the edge of the inner circle of the ceremonial room. The large stone walls are decorated with a large array of different swords. Each one different in its own way. The large crowd of the Sword family all stood at the different rising rows watching the center of the circle. At one end of the room stood a large doorway which was barred up beyond entry.

The elder Sword stood in the center of the room. He raised a sword into the air and all of the other including myself followed. Simultaneously we all chanted the following words.

"Way of the Sword!" We all then stabbed our swords into the hard concrete. There was a large rumbling with some stones falling down, and some large cracks running through the walls. This was then followed by the sound of all the blades ringing from the impact. We then pulled the swords out of the ground and holstered them.

The Elder Sword then began to speak. He is and elderly pony with a gray coat, white mane, and a long white beard. He was also wearing a gray robe.

"We are together here to witness the child of Armored Sword and Rosebud brave the trial of recognition. Come forward, young Sword." He directs at me. I walk over to him and he continues. "I understand that your parents were taken from you years ago. It may still hurt, but let it give you strength in the trials to come. Here, you will find your specialty as a Sword, and test your true abilities. You will also learn many things about our history. Now, once you have completed the trial you are not to speak of it to anypony, since it is a safeguarded secret. Also, let it be known that each trial is different. Now, venture into the tomb, young Sword." He pointed towards the barred doorway.

"Yes, elder sword." I then headed over to the door and removed the bars sealing it. I then opened it, and walked inside. I closed the door behind me as I entered.

I was greeted by a pitch black hallway. I started to walk through the black hallway, when suddenly torches on the walls lit up like nothing. I continued on my way and found the hallway was on a downward incline. Finally, the hallway ended and opened up into a larger room.

The room is gigantic with two large statues of earth ponies. One had the sun behind him, and the other had the moon. At the pedestal for the each statue stood a doorway. All around the room were large caves that I assumed led outside. The room had no torches to illuminate it; instead there were two swords in the center of the room. Both of them were just floating in place. One sword was white, glowing a bright yellow, and the other was black, glowing a dark blue. I was then greeted by a loud booming voice.

"Another young Sword, come forward." I step towards the two swords in the room. "Yes, the child of Armored Sword and Rosebud. Your parents have met a sad fate. Done by a culprit who fights with treachery and dishonor. One day the blade of revenge shall make their heads roll. I sense great strength in you young Sword. Let's see how you fair against nature's best." The cave entrances around filled with the sound of howling.

A large pack of about seven timber wolves ran in and started to encircle me. I drew my sword out in defense and waited for them to strike. One barked and lunged at me. I inhaled and turned towards my target. It seemed as if time had slowed down. I brought my sword down onto its head and decapitated it. To make sure it didn't reform I drove my sword directly into its body shattering all of the vital wood for its frame. Once finished I stepped back into the middle of them and finally exhaled.

Two more lunged at me as I inhaled again. I was able to strike one right down the center so it won't reform, but the other bit down on my right foreleg. Its teeth dug into my skin and drew some blood, but I barely felt it. I reared upward and brought all of my size onto the wolf. My weight crushed its fragile frame into mere pieces. I then stepped back and exhaled once more.

I inhaled when I felt something approaching me from behind. I spun around and slashed my sword right through the timber wolf's head. I pulled the sword out and charged through the remains. I then stood still again and exhaled.

The three remaining timber wolves retreated out through one of the caves. I holstered my sword and returned my attention back to the voice.

"Hmmm, very patterned and disciplined compared to others. You will make a fine warrior. Now, have you ever heard of the first two Sword brothers?" The voice asked me.

"No sir, what is so important about them?" I ask.

The voice chuckles. "Without them Equestria might be a very different place. Now, you young Sword are the only one left of the first Lunar Guard generation, and that makes you important. Sadly, I can't train you for I only know the power of light. You need to learn the power of darkness. Grab the black sword and do the call to release my brother. He will teach you the ways of darkness."

I do as directed and grab the black sword from its hovering position. The sword feels cold, and has shadows surrounding it. I raise it and begin the call.

"Way of the Sword!" I then slam the sword into the ground. The immediate area around me is consumed by a black fog, and a lower temperature. Another voice starts to speak, this one being deeper and in a different language.

"Excitatus sum!" The voice yells. The sword rips itself from my grasp and then returns to its hovering position. "Lunar gladius rediit, sed non est Luna Tantibus. Frater, a quo factum Illa Umbra?" The two voices then start a conversation in this language.

"Reincarnation prope est dies eius, sed adhuc modicum, donec parata sit."

"Tantibus Luna?"

"Donec quis lunam expulso mille annis. Qua cum synchronization Revertar in Illa Umbra."

"Quis est hic?"

"Ad primam custodiam hopefully ad esse, Filia Reginae Luna."

"Gladius iuvenes, gradum." The two then stop talking. The voice then comes in again louder and agitated in tone. "Surdus es?! Gradum!" The shadows around grow more and become darker.

"Frater linguam non mannis noctis, lingua mortua est." The shadows then revert back to their normal state.

"Devotio, then I will speak to him in the standard tongue. Maledicat Caelestibus hoc. Come forward young Sword."

I walk forward and wait. The shadows swirl all around me. The dark voice then speaks again.

"He is a descendent of me, certum. He is the last of them?" The dark voice asks.

"Yes, Medax's cult got the rest of them." The light one responds.

"Medax? His futui eam plan worked?! I should've killed all of them when I had the chance. Nonne ego ad nunc."

"Do you still feel the dark magic inside you brother?"

"Nequaquam, sed... I just feel the need to end him and his little cult."

"We can no longer intervene in mortal affairs brother. We can only help in the darkest of hours."

"Spero igitur illi horas venire cito. Now, I have a young Sword to sharpen." The darkness engulfs me and I'm locked in place. "Young one, you must open your mind, and let the ténebris in and take control." I close my eyes, open my mind, and focus on his voice, and feel myself become darker. "Bonum! Iam ergo incipiamus!"

I open my eyes and find myself in a dark void. I turn around and find two stallions looking at me. Both were extremely tall, almost taller than Princess Celestia. One had a white coat, gray mane, and was covered with golden armor. The other had a blue coat, dark grey mane, and was covered in black armor.

"Don't be alarmed, this is our physical form. At least the form we had before we died." The one in gold said.

"Ineptias! You died of age, I died in battle. You just picked that to look good." The one in black remarked.

"May I ask where we are?" I interrupt.

"Oh, sorry about that. We are currently inside of your mind." The one in gold informed.

"Docebimus. We will teach you the history of the lunar rebellion, and how this family started out." The one in black explained.

"But first we should introduce ourselves. I am Celestial Sword, original captain of the Celestial Guard." The one in gold introduces himself.

"I am Lunar Sword, Gladius Lunar, original captain of the Lunar Guard." The one in black also introduces himself.

"Original?" I ask.

"Tempore belli. We were the spear tips of clashing armies." Lunar Sword answered.

"We will now show you." Celestial Sword said before a large area in front of me started to morph into something.

The darkness formed into a large empty field with some hills, two rivers cutting through it, and a castle in the distance. The sky was not blue, but rather a black sky with a red glow emerging from a solar eclipse.

"Scitis terram hanc. It is the Everfree fields." Lunar Sword informs me of the location.

"You now know it as the Everfree Forest." Celestial updates it to current times.

"The Celestial army marched towards the castle to crush the rebellion. Stulti, they marched straight through the plains and gave away their position with large beacons of light." I could now see a large army marching in a column formation through the plains. I could see pegasi hovering above, unicorns lighting the way, and earth ponies making up the majority of the army using spears, swords, and some with bows and arrows. All of them were wearing golden armor.

"Celestia and Medax wanted to crush the rebellion before it could get too much momentum. They were staying back in the army to be able to command it easier, while I took to the front for giving quick orders so we don't lose too many soldiers." I could then make out Celestia and Medax in the back of the army, and Celestial Sword was at the very front leading the march.

"Illa Umbra had a much smaller army to work with. He positioned his archers on hills, and cloaked them in the darkness. Ingenio ducis." I looked to the hills and found some barely visible shadows moving. "He positioned his main body of troops in the area across the rivers. He had the idea of sustaining heavy archer fire, and forcing them to cross the rivers into the melee. Caesi forent." I looked over across the rivers and found a force half the size of the other army, but they are also covered in shadows. "Illa Umbra held me in reserve. I was to engage if we required the support or if my brother survived the initial skirmish."

"I stopped the march, because of an eerie feeling in the shadows." The army stopped marching. "Then they began." A giant volley of arrows flew from the shadows and rained down upon the army. I could see dozens of soldiers fall to the shadow consumed arrows. "I called for the unicorns to put up barriers to block the arrows." A large shield appeared over the army and started to block the arrows. "The majority of the unicorns had to focus to put up the barrier. Only one squad could continue to illuminate the shadows." The glow is now far dimmer than before, and only illuminates the troops and nothing else.

"Illa Umbra kept the infantry at their current position, if we were to charge them we would take far too many casualties. Triste, sed verum."

"Medax ordered us to move up, while Celestia ordered the pegasi to locate and take care of the archers. We then continued our march forward." I saw the Pegasi break off from formation and engaged the archers on the hill. "We then had to march through the river to reach the castle." The troops then began to slowly trudge through the river.

"Illa Umbra took this as an opportunity to rain down more archer fire so he used his reserves. Perfecta consilium! The pegasi were distracted and the unicorns were using their energy to cross the river. They were forced to take the losses." More arrows rained down onto the soldiers who were easy prey for the archers.

"Medax ordered for us too charge over the river, there was no time to argue so we charged over it. We took over one hundred casualties from archer fire altogether." I looked at the river too find bodies and blood running through it. Quite a gruesome site. "I had my archers return fire onto them with flaming arrows." The archers fired a volley and the sky was lit up with hundreds of burning arrows piercing through the shadows. The arrows struck down upon the lunar soldiers who are now illuminated from the flaming arrows piercing them. Some were armed with the exact weapons of the other army and wore dark black armor. Though most of the army was wearing blood red, and black armor that covered their whole bodies. They were armed with wicked and gruesome looking weapons.

"Illa Umbra finally ordered the charge on their weak army. I led the charge. Erat inclytus!" The lunar army then charged head on into towards the Celestial army.

"I quickly had my men form into a spear wall to counter the charge, and order sword infantry to get behind them to help in the melee." The lunar soldiers smashed into the other army and all out melee ensued. It was a bloody clusterfuck in the lay pony's terms.

"I searched for my brother to keep him from rallying the troops and reforming them. Uolui aliqua effundet sanguinem." I saw Lunar Sword and Celestial Sword clash. I couldn't keep track of all of their hits it was going so fast, but each strike got bigger and bigger. They then met in a clash with their swords, each trying to overpower the other. "This clash went on for so long Illa Umbra and Luna came to witness the power of true warriors."

"Medax and Celestia also had to witness it." I saw Illa Umbra, and Princess Luna show up on Lunar Sword's side. Medax and Princess Celestia show up on Celestial Sword's side. Even the remaining soldiers have stopped fighting and formed a circle all watching in awe.

"Amicus!" Lunar Sword yells.

"Medax!" Celestial Sword also yells.

"Charge me!" They both yell simultaneously. The generals then start to charge their captains full of magic in hope of overpowering the other. Luna and Celestia also join in. Even squads of more unicorns for both sides join in as well. They pour so much magic into the brothers that the ground around them starts to rumble and crack. The giant conjuring of magic finally combusts in a giant blinding explosion.

The light fades to reveal the plains are now covered with a thick and strange looking forest. A large crater has now formed where the clash took place. All of the soldiers, and their leaders were blown back from the blast. The generals and Princesses got up and immediately rushed to opposite sides of the crater.

"Lunar gladio?!" Illa Umbra yelled into the crater.

"Celestial Sword?!" Medax also yelled.

Through the dust you could see the outlines of two figures. One was completely black, and the other completely white. Everypony held their breath as the dust started to settle. An extremely loud and piercing voice shattered the silence.

"Tantibus sum gladio! Fatum occursum tuum in umbris!" The darker figure bellowed into the sky.

All of the dust was then replaced with dark black shadows.

"I am Celestial Sword! I will illuminate all darkness here today with force!" The brighter returned back.

The shadows were then blown away with a large wave of bright light.

You could now finally see the figures in detail. Lunar Sword has grown from his original size to be taller than even Celestia. His coat is no longer blue but pitch black. His mane is now just black shadows flowing with the wind. His eyes don't seem to have a soul anymore. They are just white now. His armor now covered almost all of his body, and surrounds his body with a black glow. Celestial Sword has also grown to be larger than Celestia. He still had his white coat, but his mane was now a bright yellow aura also moving with the wind. His eyes are also white. His golden armor surrounds his body with a yellow glow.

Lunar Sword stabbed his sword into the ground and spread shadows all across a giant radius. The Lunar soldiers fade away in the darkness while the Celestial soldiers start to panic out of fear. Some start to run away and they disappear into the darkness. All you hear afterwards is their screaming. The ones that didn't run were consumed by a mass traveling through the shadows. Once it passed all that was left was their armor laying on the ground with the shadows eating away at it like acid.

Once the mass neared Celestial Sword he just punched it away from himself.

"Enough of these shadow games!" He yelled as he stabbed his sword into the ground. Another wave of light pulsated and all of the shadows disappeared. The light revealed hundreds of Celestial soldiers cowering in utter terror. Their armor was starting to burn up from the acid and melt on them. Celestial Sword saw this and again stabbed his sword into the ground. The wave of light traveled out and glowed when it touched the soldier's armor. Their armor glowed a bright yellow and reformed before their very eyes. All of the holes and scratches from the battle came back to the shape from before the battle even started.

The current Sword brothers then resume narrating the events.

"Atra dies! The day I became Nightmare Sword, and the one day we weren't brothers." Lunar Sword shouted in disgust.

"We took on higher forms than we actually were. All of the magic that made we made contact with changed us significantly. It gets worse from here." Celestial Sword informed me.

We return our attention back to the battle.

"Lunar Gladius, receptum!" Illa Umbra shouted. I finally had a chance to really look at this general now. He was a unicorn with a dark black coat, and a dark blue mane. His armor didn't cover himself like the Sword brothers, this gave him more mobility then them. He has a strange look in his eyes that almost says something is wrong. He seems to also be disheartened whenever he looks at Nightmare Moon. Maybe regret? I can't tell.

Lunar Sword did as told and retreated back to his general. Nightmare Moon then began to speak.

"Debemus claudicátis gradum!" She yells in anger. Illa Umbra puts his head down and shakes his head.

"Bene est nostrum tantum stillare stella ..." He then looks up sadly. "De repercussions licet mortiferam possit."

Lunar Sword chuckles. "Ita potest dici de repercussions post, exercitu tincidunt nunc." He then looks at Illa Umbra who then nods. They finally both look to Nightmare Moon for final consent, and she nods. Lunar Sword turns towards the approaching army while Illa Umbra and Nightmare Moon retreat back about 15 meters. They then fire off a large stream of magic into the sky. Lunar Sword looked up in anticipation.

Up in the sky you could track their streams of magic all the way to a shooting star. Once the magic hit the star it curved towards their location. As it drew closer Illa Umbra used more magic to levitate Lunar Sword on an interception course. The star came closer and closer to Lunar Sword as he readied to strike. Lunar Sword then shoulder rushed the star in mid-air. He struck the star with an enormous magnitude of force. He then began to push the star on an interception route with the army.

Celestial Sword read his intentions. "Get a barrier up now!" He yelled loudly as he began to use his stored magic to fly at the star. They followed the instruction and formed a massive barrier surrounding the army.

Celestial Sword charged right back into the star as an opposing force for Lunar Sword. Both of them pushed with all of their might, but simply neither could force the other away. Lunar Sword then simply unsheathed his sword and raised it to strike. Celestial Sword did the same. At the same time they stabbed their swords into the star. The stars small rock form explodes into a brilliant combustion. A large division formed between the shadows of one side and the flames of one. This explosion lasted for a whole five seconds before violently flashing in another grandiose explosion.

Once the explosion was over another large crater formed. Lunar Sword was nowhere to be found and Celestial Sword was still standing there looking for them.

The brother's spirits resume narrating.

"The star exploded and could've wiped out half of the countryside. The only thing containing it was the immense amount of magic surrounding the area." Celestial Sword explained.

"Creaturae hae Everfree. The creatures of your Everfree Forest came from the star's power mixing with magic." Lunar Sword adds.

"The rest of the story you should know. Nightmare Moon was banished and peace returned. After I killed my brother." Celestial Sword states sadly.

"Melius fuit sic … the family prospered." Lunar Sword attempted to comfort his brother.

"I guess you're right. Anyway, from that day onward I established the Sword sanctuary. I also made the creed in which we follow. Family before all. The same fate will not befall onto another generation. Now, my brother can finally get this underway."

"Thank you brother and now to let you feel the darkness…"

**Present time**

That was the day I was destined for the Lunar Guard, and here I am. Maybe one day I will return to the Brothers for more training. They gave me my name, and most of my training. They were also right about Illa Umbra, and the return of Luna. I feel as if I should tell Amicus his original captain still exists as a spirit, but the family tradition is to tell nopony of my experiences in there. I think he's approaching as I speak…

"Alright! Gather around!" Amicus calls. We all form a line in front of him. "Over this night I have been testing you very carefully in various exercises, from testing magical strength to your abilities with your blades. And I am pleased to say, the you all passed. You should be proud now, to call yourselves Lunar Guards! You have this weekend off to celebrate, but on Monday, you will receive your armor and begin work. I will see you in three moons, dismissed!" The rest of the guard disperses to their own activities.

"Drift, Ordered! A moment?" He calls again. We form up in front of him again. "This is something that I shall need assistance with. We need a, rotation, of the guards on duty at times." He explains.

"Ah! I have done a bit of this with Commander Dom!" I state. "I'd say for the numbers we have currently, it would work best with pairs. We have... eight, including Drift and I, so rotations of two would work best. I think, since there is twenty four hours a day with four teams, six hours each team is the best way to work this out?" I directs towards Drift.

"I can work with that." Drift nods. "I'm thinking, pair the Spear twins together, the unicorns together, I can work with Shade, and you can work with Arrow." He directs at me. She is a troubled one I must say. It feels as if she is… off in her connection with the Earth. Though, I'm not one for prying… or am I?

I smirk. "I thought you would wish to be with one of the mares." I state.

"And where did you get that thought from?" Drift narrows his brow at me.

"Well, besides the fact you seemed to be attempting to court every one of them-" I get cut off by Amicus.

"Okay!" He yells. "Now that is sorted, most of this seems good; I shall make ten copies, so you two are dismissed!"

"See you on Monday sir." Drift responds to the commander. I just nod and we then go on our way.

"So… what were you saying?" Drift asks me.

"Drift, I know you're young and full of vigor, but you don't know how to deal with mares." I respond with honesty.

"What do you mean you old stallion?" Drift jokes with me.

"I'm serious Drift, if you hope to ever have a mare like you, then you have to do it right."

"Are you sure you're not at all rusty?" He nudges me.

"I'm married, and I come from a bloodline of brutal warriors. If I cheat then my head rolls." I explain.

He chuckles. "Fine, teach me your ways wise one." He says sarcastically.

"You're lucky you're a higher rank than me." I grumble. "Anyway, come with me." I turn to a different direction.

"Where're we going?" He asks as he resumes moving with me.

"I'll explain on the way." We enter a door to the castle. "When my wife and I were dating we decided one time to go to the Grand Galloping Gala." We walk up a staircase. "I was able to get us tickets from my service in the guard." We turned down another hallway. "When we first arrived it was pretty underwhelming. I was raised to be primed and proper so I could fit in with this type of crowd; sadly it seems is still wasn't enough." We entered the large main ballroom and continued to head through it. "She didn't like it either, so we headed to a more secluded area." I then opened up the door to the outer balcony.

"This is nice and all Ordered, but what does this have to do with my skills…" He just stopped talking when he saw the view.

On this balcony you can see **everything**. You can see the giant mountains in the distance, the open valleys leading to ponyville, cloudsdale floating in the sky, a glimpse of the Everfree in the distance, and all of it bathed in the pail moonlight. The stars dotted the sky above to add depth and more beauty to this picture. Drift stood there in awe taking in the view.

"At this spot we danced, we didn't need music, we didn't need to be dressed up, and we certainly didn't need to lie about ourselves. That's why you fail with mares Drift. You aren't being sincere. You're either looking for a one night stand, or you won't even try. There's a reason why I married at an older age. I used to be in the same boat as you, but I found an ore. And that ore was experience." I leaned in closer to him. "No matter how sappy that sounds, it's the truth." I then pulled back, and gave him some room.

"Well… that certainly opened my eyes." He said, still in awe by the view.

"Good, now come on. I could use something to eat." I start to head in.

"Yeah, I'll be there in a bit." He said not taking his eyes away from the sky.

I chuckle and head in.


End file.
